New Guy First Post

I called that fella about 2 weeks ago. He has an ad on craigslist I think or maybe it was the newspaper. I talked to him for awhile. He said at the time he was mounting one of his engines on a bike but was having a problem. Those engines can be bought on ebay for that price and even less and no shipping charges. However for me I didn't want to go that route because I felt it may be sort of like "floor sweeepings" if you know what I mean. I asked if he would take less and he said"not much" so I guess you could get him to come down a little. I asked where he got them and he mentioned Power King which is a ebay thing I think. He was a nice fella but I guess he wants to get out of the motorized bike business of whatever. I went with DAX for my first engine because of their good rating and also they give good service and stand behind their product(I think). They also have a great parts and accessories dept. and their assembly procedure and pictures looked ok to me and is what I need for at least the first time. If this works out ok with the DAX and that fellow is still around with the engines I may drive down to White Hall and take a look. Now that I have ordered the engine I am taking a new look at my good old mountain bike and really sort of hate to do anything to it. I have been looking for a cheap but sturdy bike I could buy to mount this motor on but the new ones that look pretty good and there is some infor on is the Schwinn's which can be bought at WalMart or ordered on line and shipped to the closest WalMart. The Huffy sort of looks flimsey but may be ok. I had a friend a few years ago that got hurt rideing a Huffy going down hill at about 20 to 30 MPH and the thing started to viberate and the frame was twisting according to him and it finally dumped him with multiple injuries. If you have any info or suggestions please let me in on them. The other day I sent you a email reply and got you confused with Dave. I apologize. This forum stuff is sort of new to me. Tom
 
The other day I sent you a email reply and got you confused with Dave. I apologize. This forum stuff is sort of new to me. Tom

That's okay,

As for the motors, when I called him, he said they were still in the box. Which could be true for 3 of them. He sounded to me like he didn't know too much about them. As for quality, I may be mistaken but hte Chinese "Happy Times" or HT as you will see on this site, all come from only a couple of manufacturers. Warranty is nice, but believe me, no engine stays stock for more than 30 minutes after being installed. They are all a work in progress.

When it comes to bikes, Wally World does have some good ones. I have a Kulana Moon Dog that has a pretty sturdy feeling frame. The biggest problem is the oversized front downtube. "They", but not I, recommend drilling a hole through the frame and mounting it, but if I could go back, I would buy or have fabricated a mount like the one on sickbikeparts.com.

If you decide to come down to White Hall, let me know. If you are finished with your current project then, throw it in the truck, bring it with you, and we'll go for a ride. Be glad to meet you in the flesh.....

Scott,
 
I looked at the Moon Dog on the wally world web site. It does look like the down tube could be a problem. They do show several motorized ones on Google View and it looks like there is enough room. I'll take a look at the mount on sickbike parts later.Wally World shows a Schwinn Landmark that looks much like the Schwinn Del Mar that has a big recommendation from several builders on a different web site. They are saying the Del Mar is a sweet one to build on. The Del Mar is listed at $129.97 but is single speed. The Landmark is 7 speed at $119.00 but both frames look the same to me. I am curious as to how much pedaling you have to do on your setup. Do hills cause any problems. Take a look at the bike at this web page http:www.slickvixen.com./MOTOR 1.jpg I wonder what the bike is and where do you get a back wheel drive ring like the one on the bike. The whole thing looks like a WW11 Service Cycle you use to see around after the war (I was a kid then and wished for one) but haven't seen in years. If I could build a bike like the one here I would be ready to sit back and enjoy. That thing is great. Tom
 
Wally World shows a Schwinn Landmark

good choice. I love the contrast of the white on orange shown in the picture. I think it will work just fine.

I am curious as to how much pedaling you have to do on your setup. Do hills cause any problems.

Mine is a 7 speed and I keep it on about 2nd or 3rd largest sprocket, can't recall which, but it never changes. Once you get up to enough speed to start the motor, there's no more pedaling necessary. As for hills, I only have a couple that I pass daily, I have the 44 tooth sprocket that came with the kit. No problems with hills at all. there's a slight bog down but nothing the bike can't handle.

That's one nice bike in the picture. They come complete. I didn't delve into the site to see about parts but I am sure you could find the large sprocket here http://www.whizzermotorbike.com/ somewhere.
 
Got on the internet and went to wally world. The schwinn del mar that several people say is a real easy bike to put a motor on wasn't in my local store. I did find one the closest to me was at Hot Springs Village Wally World. (50 miles) Well I have been wanting to go over that way anyway to check out a campground on lake ouachita that is up that way so I take off and go. They had two Del Mars and they were both on sale for $90.00 each. Normally they are $129.00. I think they are good solid bikes but the only thing that bothers me is they have just the standard old style bike rear end (No Gears) I rode one up and down the aisle and it seemed harder to ride this style than when I was riding one like this as a kid. (wonder why?) I began to waffle a little and now am backtracking and may just go ahead and use my GT Mountain Bike. Its 20 years old but is still a good bike. However I am not ruling out the Del Mar. Its really a great price and the rear end thing may not be a issue worth worrying about. I need to make up my mind quick because they only have two and they may go quickly.What is your opinion on a bike like this with the old style rear end. I just don't know if this is a issue or not and sure wish you and anyone else out there would give their honest opinion. The rest of the trip was great. The campground is hard to get to but not many people go there. Its in the Avant Buckville area of the lake. Tom
 
Tom, I like the bike and the price, but it being a coaster, I really can't give you my true opinion. When I first started riding my MB, I thought that I might like coaster brakes better than the hand brakes, but I have kinda grown fond of them. Just remember this. You will not have to pedal as much as you think you will. I even get winded on when trying to get the bike started on cold mornings, but after a few minutes of riding with the motor, all is okay. Maybe I should start a new thread with a poll to help you decide on the bike.
 
Let me think this thing over and by early next week if I decide to get the del mar maybe one will still be there. My engine hasn't shipped yet . Ordered it monday but they say 5 days to ship so probably won't get it until next friday or the monday after. There is a junk place close to me that has literally 100 to 200 bikes in all stages of disrepair. It a gold mine for finding a bike to use for a motor. The only problem is the guy that owns it is trying to get rich fast. He wanted $45.00 for a old Huffy that needed everything replaced. He was sort of rude and acted like the price was very fair even though I never made an offer that was an insult to him. New ones sell for less than 100.00. Even if I could have bought it for a 5 or 10 bucks or so it would probably cost almost as much to rebuild it as a new one would cost. However there must be places that have some good older bikes that could be had for a reasonable price. I am looking around. Tom
 
72 is a good number

My dad is 72 and the latest bike I motorized is 72 (a 1936-7 Cleveland Welding Corp All American---pictures coming to the board soon) Sounds like a good age to start something new.

I'm almost 47, my physician just turned 50 and tells me I can't be old, because she isn't old yet and 50 is the new 30.

I hope that am blessed to be able to start new wild things when I reach my seventh decade.

Welcome.
 
Thanks for the welcome. This forum is great and I have had a lot of good help here. That project with the old bike is interesting. I am looking forward to seeing it. The physician is right about the new age being less than the actual age. However when I was 50 I didn't need a nap in the afternoons to recharge so she is right in some ways but maybe not all. Also there is the other thing that doesn't work like it should when I was 50 if you know what I mean. Thanks, Tom
 
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